CESARE PAVESE *
from
"La terra e la morte" (1945-1946)
Anche
tu sei collina
e
sentiero di sassi
e
gioco nei canneti,
e
conosci la vigna
che
di notte tace.
Tu
non dici parole.
C'è
una terra
che
tace e non è terra tua.
C'è
un silenzio che dura
sulle
piante e sui colli.
Ci
son acque e campagne.
Sei
un chiuso silenzio
che
non cede, sei labbra
e
occhi bui. Sei la vigna.
E’
una terra che attende
e
non dice parola.
Sono
passati giorni
sotto
cieli ardenti.
Tu
hai giocato alle nubi.
E
una terra cattiva –
la
tua fronte lo sa.
Anche
questo è la vigna.
Ritroverai
le nubi
e
il canneto, e le voci
come
un'ombra di luna.
Ritroverai
parole
oltre
la vita breve
e
notturna dei giochi,
oltre
l'infanzia accesa.
Sarà
dolce tacere.
Sei
la terra e la vigna.
Un
acceso silenzio
brucerà
la campagna
come
i falò la sera.
TRANSLATION
From "LAND AND DEATH"
You're a hill too
and a rocky path
and a game among cane-brakes
and you know the vineyard
silent at night.
You don't say a word.
There's a land,
silent land which is not yours.
There's a lasting silence
on plants and hills.
There are waters and fields.
You're a shut silence
that doesn't give up, you're lips
and dark eyes. You're the vineyard.
It's a land that waits
and doesn't utter a word.
Days passed by
under scorching skies.
You played with clouds.
And a wicked land -
your brow knows it.
This is also vineyard.
You'll find back the clouds
and the cane-brake, and the voices
like a moonshadow.
You'll find back the words
beyond a short life,
nocturnal life of games,
beyond a lighted childhood.
Silence will be sweet.
You're land and vineyard.
A lighted silence
will burn the fields
like bonfires at night...
(translation by M.Ramponi)
*
Cesare
Pavese
(1908–1950).
Italian novelist, poet, and translator. A major literary figure in
postwar Italy, Pavese brought American influence to Italian literature
through his translations. He himself was strongly influenced by
Melville. Pavese's flight from the Fascists and subsequent imprisonment
were reflected in his writings, which dealt with social struggle and
revealed his sympathy for the oppressed. His major works include
Il Compagno (The comrade, 1948),
Tra Donne Sole
(1948; tr. Among Women Only, 1953), and La
luna e i falò (1950; tr. The Moon and the Bonfire, 1952).
Pavese's recurrent theme in these novels is the search of urban man, who
is caught in continually changing situations, for permanence and
stability. In 1950, unhappy with both his personal life and the
political climate of postwar Italy, he committed suicide.
